Deal keeps Miners at Hermon Brothers Field until at least 2025

PALMER — The Mat-Su Miners aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

Earlier this week, the Alaska State Fair announced a long-term deal that ensures the Miners will call Hermon Brothers Field home until at least 2025.

The local summer amateur developmental team and member of the Alaska Baseball League has played at Hermon Brothers Field, a park tucked inside the fairgrounds, since an army of volunteers carved the field from grounds in 1976.

The agreement calls for a cost to the Miners of only $1 per year in rent, and is good through April 30, 2025. There is also potential to extend the deal past that date until April 30, 2030.

Alaska State Fair Director of Marketing and Communication Dean Phipps said the agreement follows with what created the foundation of the team.

“Hermon Brothers Field was built in that spirit of community. The people who put time and energy into it, the people who kept it going during the bad times,” Phipps said. “That’s how it was established. That’s how it was maintained for years. The dollar per year is a statement that recognizes those values.”

Phipps said glad to see the relationship between the fair and the Miners continue to thrive.

“From my standpoint, it’s a great decision. Now we can move on with how we can have a better partnership,” Phipps said.

Phipps said one obstacle was committing to a long-term agreement. Phipps said it’s not always the practice of the Alaska State Fair Board of Directors to enter into a long-term agreement that future boards may be saddled with.

An agreement with the Miners approved to be an exception.

“Not only did we make a decision, we made a committed decision,” Phipps said. “We really looked at the relationship and evaluated it. It came across pretty clearly the Miners have a long history here.”

The Miners have a long and successful history, dating back to 1976.

Mat-Su Miners general manager Pete Christopher said he’s excited and relieved to know the Miners’ storied tradition will continue at Hermon Brothers.

“Now we know where we’re going to be for a while,” Christopher said. “It’s great.”

Rumors of the Miners possibly losing their home park had surfaced recently, but Miners marketing and community relations manager Denise Christopher is glad those rumors can be laid to rest.

“There was a lot of hearsay and concern, speculation that the Miners weren’t going to be there,” Christopher said. “This is a big deal, a huge relief.”

Denise Christopher said she’s excited about the Miners relationship with the Alaska State Fair and the new deal. Keeping the rent at only a $1 is also important for the team to continue to operate on a limited budget.

“The Miners aren’t rich by any means, but we pay our bills. We’re OK with that,” Christopher said.

Christopher said she feels Hermon Brothers Field is a big part of the team’s identity.

“The scenery, the whole history,” Christopher said. “There’s so much history there.”

Hermon Brothers Field is named for Hermon Brothers Construction, which helped create the field.

In 1976, volunteers cut a field into the deep forest that stood on Alaska State Fair property. Largely led by more volunteers, Hermon Brothers Field has been steadily upgraded throughout the years.

In 2003, the Miners’ clubhouse was finished and in 2004 the existing press box was finished. Last year, work on a new concession stand was completed.

Earlier this year, a new scoreboard was donated by the National Electrical Contractors Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547.

The Miners have also enjoyed a great amount of success on Hermon Brothers Field. Recent success includes back-to-back ABL titles in 2009 and 2010. Mat-Su has captured the ABL crown four times since 2004 and has the most wins in the six-team league during the least eight seasons.

Mat-Su has also won the National Baseball Congress World Series twice, in 1987 and 1997, and finished second in 2004.

The Miners begin the 2012 season June 11 against the Anchorage Glacier Pilots at Hermon Brothers Field.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him at twitter.com/matsu_sports.